Thank you to everyone who left comments on my last post. It was comforting to know there were people out there thinking of me and my family. I am so glad I went home for the funeral. Even up until the day I left I wasn't sure if it was the right decision but once I landed and saw my mom, I knew I had done the right thing.
There were highs and lows during the trip. Highs: I got to spend a whole day with just my mom and another day with my sister. Nana's funeral was lovely. Honestly, our extended family is so much fun to be with, even when it is for a sad occasion. Lows: I got totally sick with laryngitis and couldn't eat much. I lost 6kg. The low of this is that I missed out on eating a lot of good food. I usually gain weight when I go home. Hmm, I guess you could look at that as a high and a low.
Chikara did a great job with the kids. The house was even clean when I got home! Thank you to Abigail, Ruri, Eri and my in-laws for helping with the kids, too.
It's going to take me awhile to get better and get the house back to normal so there probably won't be any posts from me for a bit.
Showing posts with label my family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my family. Show all posts
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
nana
My nana passed away last weekend. She has not been strong for the last year or so. When we were home in August she fell at her home and hit her head and although the injury wasn't that bad, from that day on she was just not the same and eventually had to move to a nursing home. I knew when I saw her before we left that it would probably be the last time but that doesn't mean her passing hasn't taken me by surprise.
So I will go home for a week to attend her funeral. My husband is letting me go by myself so maybe you could all say a prayer for him this week as he watches the girls.
I'm wondering when it will hit me that she is actually gone. I'm dreading that moment.
So I will go home for a week to attend her funeral. My husband is letting me go by myself so maybe you could all say a prayer for him this week as he watches the girls.
I'm wondering when it will hit me that she is actually gone. I'm dreading that moment.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Grammy Comes To Visit - Part 1
Drum roll, please! Yes, I'm finally writing about my mom's visit. I hope it meets expectations!
Before I write about the time we actually spent together, I feel that I should mention about all the work I did before my mom came. There is no explanation for this but I always put a lot of thought into getting our house ready for my mom (or both of my parents) when she visits. One of the great things about my parents is that they love my siblings and I just the way we are, flaws and all. It is not necessary to impress them or try to earn their love each time we meet but I still always want to put my best foot forward so that I can show them that all their hard work was not in vain. They turned out a responsible adult and they should be able to enjoy the fruits of that. Right?!
One of my biggest goals was to finish the walls in Natsuki's room before my mom got here. Chikara had to go to a conference for 3 days the week before my mom came and at first I thought the timing was lousy but then I realized that with Chikara gone I could get a lot more work done (silver lining!). I managed to finish puttying every square inch of the walls and the day before my mom came, I sanded the walls and painted them white. A friend of mine who is a contractor was able to find some FREE leftover white paint from a job he had finished. I had pretty much decided on the paint color for the walls but I wanted to get my mom's opinion so I was relieved to at least have the white paint so the walls would have more of a finished look to them than just the putty. These are some pictures of the room before we moved the bed in there for her.
You can kind of see that there's still an unfinished part on the wall where the hole used to be. I followed my contractor friend's advice and cut a larger hole so that the patched area could be stronger. I went to a home center that's farther away from our house to buy sheetrock because I heard that they sold smaller pieces which is what I wanted. When I got there I discovered that they did sell smaller squares but you had to buy four at a time and the price was $12. One regular-sized piece of sheetrock was only $3 but so big and heavy that it was awkward for me to carry around. I decided to just get the big piece but when I took a look at them, they had two difference thicknesses of sheetrock, 9.5mm and 12.5mm. The 9.5mm thickness didn't look right so I took a sheet from the 12.5mm pile. When I got to the register, Sakura and Misaki were fighting about something so I didn't check with the lady about the thickness. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. I wrangled the sheetrock into the car BY MYSELF (seriously, it was weird that no one came to help me), wrangled it out of the car, measured twice, cut once, got it all the way upstairs only to discover it was not thick enough. The piles must've been mixed up. Grrr. At that point I didn't have anymore time to fiddle with it before my mom came so I just left the not-thick-enough piece in there so it didn't look quite so scary.
Before I write about the time we actually spent together, I feel that I should mention about all the work I did before my mom came. There is no explanation for this but I always put a lot of thought into getting our house ready for my mom (or both of my parents) when she visits. One of the great things about my parents is that they love my siblings and I just the way we are, flaws and all. It is not necessary to impress them or try to earn their love each time we meet but I still always want to put my best foot forward so that I can show them that all their hard work was not in vain. They turned out a responsible adult and they should be able to enjoy the fruits of that. Right?!
One of my biggest goals was to finish the walls in Natsuki's room before my mom got here. Chikara had to go to a conference for 3 days the week before my mom came and at first I thought the timing was lousy but then I realized that with Chikara gone I could get a lot more work done (silver lining!). I managed to finish puttying every square inch of the walls and the day before my mom came, I sanded the walls and painted them white. A friend of mine who is a contractor was able to find some FREE leftover white paint from a job he had finished. I had pretty much decided on the paint color for the walls but I wanted to get my mom's opinion so I was relieved to at least have the white paint so the walls would have more of a finished look to them than just the putty. These are some pictures of the room before we moved the bed in there for her.
You can kind of see that there's still an unfinished part on the wall where the hole used to be. I followed my contractor friend's advice and cut a larger hole so that the patched area could be stronger. I went to a home center that's farther away from our house to buy sheetrock because I heard that they sold smaller pieces which is what I wanted. When I got there I discovered that they did sell smaller squares but you had to buy four at a time and the price was $12. One regular-sized piece of sheetrock was only $3 but so big and heavy that it was awkward for me to carry around. I decided to just get the big piece but when I took a look at them, they had two difference thicknesses of sheetrock, 9.5mm and 12.5mm. The 9.5mm thickness didn't look right so I took a sheet from the 12.5mm pile. When I got to the register, Sakura and Misaki were fighting about something so I didn't check with the lady about the thickness. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. I wrangled the sheetrock into the car BY MYSELF (seriously, it was weird that no one came to help me), wrangled it out of the car, measured twice, cut once, got it all the way upstairs only to discover it was not thick enough. The piles must've been mixed up. Grrr. At that point I didn't have anymore time to fiddle with it before my mom came so I just left the not-thick-enough piece in there so it didn't look quite so scary.
Another funny thing that happened was when I opened the cannister of white paint. There was something floating in it and when I glanced in, it was furry and covered in white paint and for a brief second I thought it might be a mouse. I slammed the lid shut and stood there for a few seconds unwilling to look again. I realized that nothing was moving so I opened it again and when I got a good look I realized that there were five rollers floating in the paint! Obviously they didn't anticipate that anyone else was going to use it so they had just left it that way. My heart was beating so fast. I had a good chuckle but then I still had to figure out how to take the rollers out without getting paint everywhere!
I also organized closets and washed sheets and cleared corners until I finally ran out of time and momentum. Chikara wasn't sure why I was so bent on getting everything done but I wanted it all out of the way before my mom came so we could just enjoy our time together.
Finally the day came for mom to arrive and the girls and I were so excited that we could hardly concentrate on anything else. We got to the airport a little early but once we checked the arrival boards, we realized that we were going to have a lot of time on our hands because almost all incoming flights were delayed by an hour or more. Fortunately Kansai Airport is a place we all enjoy so we ate some dinner and then found a wide area for the girls to run around without annoying *too* many other people. Then we got some coffee and dessert at Starbucks and went down to wait for my mom to get through immigration and get her bags.
When she did come through the doors, there were hugs all around except for Natsuki who wasn't too sure about Grammy. After a few minutes, she did talk to Grammy but definitely didn't want to be held. We figured we had two whole weeks for Natsuki to get to know Grammy so we didn't push it. I should've taken a picture at this point but we were just so glad that mom had finally arrived that we whisked her away to the car and started for home.
Once we got home, Grammy opened her suitcases and gave each of the girls a present. Misaki immediately asked about her birthday present but Grammy said she had to wait. Once the girls were in bed, mom got out all the other stuff she had brought for us. My dad had been gathering tools and supplies from the home center to help me complete my project and soon there was a huge pile in the middle of the living room. I almost wanted to start puttying and painting right then and there. Tools are way too much fun. Thanks Dad for all your hard work. I'm now well-equipped to tackle any project in the house!
Next out of her suitcase were magazines and books and snacks, basically a lot of stuff I had requested, and once all that was out, mom had emptied one whole suitcase. I kind of felt bad that she had had to carry all of that around for us but I was glad to see it all, too. Again, I should've taken a picture since it was a magnificent sight. I thought for sure that mom would be exhausted by this point in the day but we ended up talking for a few more hours before we all reluctantly went to bed.
The next few days were spent mostly at home. Emi and Misaki had school and I had to teach English on the Tuesday. Mom was waking up early each morning due to her jetlag but we would still stay up late at night talking anyways. We made some plans for the next few days. One of the main events that mom came for was Misaki's preschool recital which was on the Thursday and then Friday we would be at home again but on Saturday Chikara would be home so we could use the car and go do some shopping. I wanted to buy material for curtains and duvet covers for Emi & Misaki's new room but I didn't want to drag everyone through the fabric store. Chikara said we could go by ourselves but I'll tell that story in a minute...
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
our vacation
Since I've come back from Canada I've been trying to write a post that would include all the wonderful aspects of our trip. Needless to say this has been a lesson in futility. There are many unfinished drafts wherein I tried to include all the cute things the girls said or all the illnesses we had between the six of us or my feelings about seeing my family and being home for Christmas and it is just not possible to include all of this in a post. So here are some highlights...
Being Sick:
All six of us had a variety of illnesses during the 3-1/2 weeks that we were home. I have not been sick for at least three years (unless you count the fun symptoms related to pregnancy) and I got my first full-blown cold with glands so swollen that I could hardly swallow (although I ate the turkey anyways) at which point the organization of my family totally broke down. I was so out of it I couldn't remember if the kids had eaten. Thank God my mom was paying attention. Sakura even had roseola (we looked it up on the internet) which she graciously passed on to two of her cousins (Sorry Ariana and Felicity!).
International Flight With Four Children:
Busy. The flight to Canada went very well because we flew at night and for the most part the kids slept, ate or watched movies. Natsuki was the easiest. She was totally entertained by all the people on the flight and she smiled for anyone who would take a moment to say hello. The flight back to Japan was another story. This flight was during the day and two hours longer. We were so glad to get home and go to bed.
10 Kids In One House For Five Days:
Good! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was less of a problem than I anticipated. The four older children (Jairon, Emi, Ethan & Misaki) played very well together (Emi even learned how to play video games!), Ariana was sick most of the time and Natsuki & Xander were asleep most of the time. The only real drama was between Sakura, Kiara & Felicity but even that was easily resolved and forgotten. Plus I know the kids made some great memories together which was really the point of all this.
SHOPPING!!!:
Too much fun! As always, I wished that I had more time and money but we maxed out our suitcase space so it worked out just fine. I love shopping in Portland. I really miss Target and Old Navy.
Friends:
I was wonderful to see old friends whom we haven't see in awhile. Many of their families have grown (like us) so it was fun to parade our kids around and take pictures. Special thanks to Luke & Angela for letting us stay with them. As always, your hospitality really blessed us. And thanks to those of you who had us over for dinner and fellowship.
Family:
This is the hardest of all to write. Spending time with my family is always the greatest joy I have when I go home and it is also the greatest sadness when I leave. Japan has become our home but it would be made perfect if my family was here with me. I enjoyed being able to sit in your homes and talk about everything and nothing, watch our kids run around and do silly things, play games, eat and in general be a big family once again. Thank you mom & dad for hosting all of us. Thank you Jon & Maria for being so flexible and taking good care of us in Portland. And Hannah, I'm so glad we could come and visit your cute home on the coast. Thanks for taking care of details that made our Christmas so wonderful. Joel (the Magnificent), thank you for entertaining the children.
I have to say that having four children really changes how much we are able to do on our vacations but they are made more special when seen through your child's eyes.
Being Sick:
All six of us had a variety of illnesses during the 3-1/2 weeks that we were home. I have not been sick for at least three years (unless you count the fun symptoms related to pregnancy) and I got my first full-blown cold with glands so swollen that I could hardly swallow (although I ate the turkey anyways) at which point the organization of my family totally broke down. I was so out of it I couldn't remember if the kids had eaten. Thank God my mom was paying attention. Sakura even had roseola (we looked it up on the internet) which she graciously passed on to two of her cousins (Sorry Ariana and Felicity!).
International Flight With Four Children:
Busy. The flight to Canada went very well because we flew at night and for the most part the kids slept, ate or watched movies. Natsuki was the easiest. She was totally entertained by all the people on the flight and she smiled for anyone who would take a moment to say hello. The flight back to Japan was another story. This flight was during the day and two hours longer. We were so glad to get home and go to bed.
10 Kids In One House For Five Days:
Good! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was less of a problem than I anticipated. The four older children (Jairon, Emi, Ethan & Misaki) played very well together (Emi even learned how to play video games!), Ariana was sick most of the time and Natsuki & Xander were asleep most of the time. The only real drama was between Sakura, Kiara & Felicity but even that was easily resolved and forgotten. Plus I know the kids made some great memories together which was really the point of all this.
SHOPPING!!!:
Too much fun! As always, I wished that I had more time and money but we maxed out our suitcase space so it worked out just fine. I love shopping in Portland. I really miss Target and Old Navy.
Friends:
I was wonderful to see old friends whom we haven't see in awhile. Many of their families have grown (like us) so it was fun to parade our kids around and take pictures. Special thanks to Luke & Angela for letting us stay with them. As always, your hospitality really blessed us. And thanks to those of you who had us over for dinner and fellowship.
Family:
This is the hardest of all to write. Spending time with my family is always the greatest joy I have when I go home and it is also the greatest sadness when I leave. Japan has become our home but it would be made perfect if my family was here with me. I enjoyed being able to sit in your homes and talk about everything and nothing, watch our kids run around and do silly things, play games, eat and in general be a big family once again. Thank you mom & dad for hosting all of us. Thank you Jon & Maria for being so flexible and taking good care of us in Portland. And Hannah, I'm so glad we could come and visit your cute home on the coast. Thanks for taking care of details that made our Christmas so wonderful. Joel (the Magnificent), thank you for entertaining the children.
I have to say that having four children really changes how much we are able to do on our vacations but they are made more special when seen through your child's eyes.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
you're not hungry, you're tired
I read an article today wherein fathers were encouraged to repeat "annoying" catchphrases when teaching their children life lessons. The article said that your children will be irritated by them now but the cliched-sayings will stick with them into adulthood and they will remember the wisdom you were trying to impart. My parents did this with gusto during our childhood and it is a little scary to me now that I can hear my mom's voice in my head saying these phrases in unison with me as I repeat them to my children.
My favorite phrase (and the one I use all the time much to the frustration of my girls) is "You're not hungry, you're tired". As children if we asked for something to eat before bedtime (or after bedtime) then my mom would say this to us with a sweet smile and that would be the end of the conversation. The reason I'm sharing this is because after Natsuki was born and I was nursing her around the clock, I also ate around the clock. Usually I wasn't so hungry in the morning but as the day wore on (and I was actually awake) my appetite would return so that by the late evening I was still hungry no matter how much I'd eaten throughout the day. This was fine since Natsuki was waking up twice at night and I needed to be able to produce milk for her. But it just occured to me last night that she's sleeping through the night but my late night cravings have not decreased. The other night I ate a whole bag of microwave popcorn - by myself - at 11pm and then went to bed. This is not going to help me with getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight which will hinder all my shopping plans when I go home!
So last night, when the hunger pains began, I repeated to myself "you're not hungry, you're tired, you're not hungry, you're tired" until they passed and then I went to bed. The irritating catchphrases worked! My mother would be so proud of me!
My favorite phrase (and the one I use all the time much to the frustration of my girls) is "You're not hungry, you're tired". As children if we asked for something to eat before bedtime (or after bedtime) then my mom would say this to us with a sweet smile and that would be the end of the conversation. The reason I'm sharing this is because after Natsuki was born and I was nursing her around the clock, I also ate around the clock. Usually I wasn't so hungry in the morning but as the day wore on (and I was actually awake) my appetite would return so that by the late evening I was still hungry no matter how much I'd eaten throughout the day. This was fine since Natsuki was waking up twice at night and I needed to be able to produce milk for her. But it just occured to me last night that she's sleeping through the night but my late night cravings have not decreased. The other night I ate a whole bag of microwave popcorn - by myself - at 11pm and then went to bed. This is not going to help me with getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight which will hinder all my shopping plans when I go home!
So last night, when the hunger pains began, I repeated to myself "you're not hungry, you're tired, you're not hungry, you're tired" until they passed and then I went to bed. The irritating catchphrases worked! My mother would be so proud of me!
Friday, November 03, 2006
christmas spirit
I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit but for some reason it's not working. What is wrong with me? Every year I have started listening to Christmas music from the beginning of October when the weather changes. It annoys my husband so that's an added benefit but I think in October is when I realize I won't see my family at Christmastime and so the emotional roller coaster begins. Then usually by the end of October I gather my wits about me and decide to make "this Christmas the best Christmas ever" despite the fact that the odds are against me. I go shopping and buy new Christmas ornaments or lights and start thinking about Christmas presents for my family. Also, usually about this time we'll start planning Christmas events at the church and I get all excited about these, too. "This year we'll go all out", I'll think to myself.
This will hold me through most of November and then reality will set in. I'll see a show on TV that will be advertising the best "love hotels" to take your girlfriend to on Christmas Eve. It's like prom night for high schoolers! It totally takes away from my Christmas high. Also, at this time, I will realize that my husband will not have Christmas Day off from work. How could Christmas not be a national holiday?!?!
I put on my bravest face and put up my Christmas tree and lights and try to make Christmas alive to my kids by relating memories of Christmas past and showing sappy Hollywood Christmas movies. I make my own little Christmas bubble but as the actual day grows closer the feelings of doubt rise up and I start to panic a little bit. My kids don't believe in Santa! They've never even seen Santa! I'll be walking through the mall and just want to scream at people, "You're ruining Christmas, you're ruining Christmas". I suffer from the same bit of culture shock every year. It's pathetic, you'd think I'd see it coming by now.
But this is when I realize that I have to get a grip on my expectations of what Christmas should be. I stop and think to myself about what Christmas is really about. It's about Jesus' birth (hello!) and about family. Really that's all I need. Maybe the Christmas that my kids will remember will be different from what I experienced but they will have enjoyed it nonetheless.
And then in the blink of an eye, it's over. Christmas is done and it was more wonderful and the kids were more involved than the year before and I'm happy and so is my husband and seriously what more could I ask for?
Now I know why I haven't gotten into the Christmas spirit yet this year. I don't have to endure the emotional roller coaster because this year I will go and be with my family and have a celebration that my children will remember forever because it will be the most unique Christmas they will experience until the next time we go to Canada for Christmas. So I'm saving myself (and my emotions) for my mom's cooking, and eggnog lattes (decaf, of course) and pictures with Santa and snow on the mountains and people being nice to each other just because the Christmas spirit is in the air.
This will hold me through most of November and then reality will set in. I'll see a show on TV that will be advertising the best "love hotels" to take your girlfriend to on Christmas Eve. It's like prom night for high schoolers! It totally takes away from my Christmas high. Also, at this time, I will realize that my husband will not have Christmas Day off from work. How could Christmas not be a national holiday?!?!
I put on my bravest face and put up my Christmas tree and lights and try to make Christmas alive to my kids by relating memories of Christmas past and showing sappy Hollywood Christmas movies. I make my own little Christmas bubble but as the actual day grows closer the feelings of doubt rise up and I start to panic a little bit. My kids don't believe in Santa! They've never even seen Santa! I'll be walking through the mall and just want to scream at people, "You're ruining Christmas, you're ruining Christmas". I suffer from the same bit of culture shock every year. It's pathetic, you'd think I'd see it coming by now.
But this is when I realize that I have to get a grip on my expectations of what Christmas should be. I stop and think to myself about what Christmas is really about. It's about Jesus' birth (hello!) and about family. Really that's all I need. Maybe the Christmas that my kids will remember will be different from what I experienced but they will have enjoyed it nonetheless.
And then in the blink of an eye, it's over. Christmas is done and it was more wonderful and the kids were more involved than the year before and I'm happy and so is my husband and seriously what more could I ask for?
Now I know why I haven't gotten into the Christmas spirit yet this year. I don't have to endure the emotional roller coaster because this year I will go and be with my family and have a celebration that my children will remember forever because it will be the most unique Christmas they will experience until the next time we go to Canada for Christmas. So I'm saving myself (and my emotions) for my mom's cooking, and eggnog lattes (decaf, of course) and pictures with Santa and snow on the mountains and people being nice to each other just because the Christmas spirit is in the air.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
I bought my tickets!
I paid for my tickets today for my family and I to go home for Christmas! My husband was able to get 3-1/2 weeks off so we're all going together. I'm glad because I didn't think I could handle all four kids on the plane by myself. Phew! The tickets cost a fortune, I actually cringed while paying for them, but it will be worth it. I haven't been home for Christmas in 6 years and I have found that I am most homesick during the holiday season so I'm looking forward to not having to deal with my own emotional roller coaster.
The last time my husband and I were home for Christmas was 2000 and Emi had just been born. My brother and his wife had Jairon who was 1-year old and had just found out they were pregnant with Ethan. It was a great time because we all knew that the wonderful family time that we'd been having for the last two years would soon end as many of us would be moving away from Portland. So it was me, my husband & Emi, my brother, his wife and Jairon, my sister and my youngest brother and my parents.
This year it will be a different story from the quiet Christmas of 2000. Now there are 10 grandchildren, my Natsuki being the latest. My sister has married and has two children, my brother and his wife now have four and we have four. I do feel bad for my youngest brother Joel because this Christmas is basically about the grandchildren and he hasn't made any yet. But he gets to be "Joel the Magnificent" and my kids think he's the coolest and they're looking forward to throwing snowballs at him!
My mom has planned a Fantasy Christmas complete with ice skating and Christmas dinner at a fancy hotel. Our whole family hasn't been together since my sister was married in June 2004 so we're planning a family picture which should be interesting. I have a hard time getting my four girls to face the same direction and smile for any picture-taking session so it'll be interesting to try to get 10 kids to do the same. But we're up for the challenge since we don't get many chances at a whole family picture.
I love my family and I can't wait to hug everyone.
The last time my husband and I were home for Christmas was 2000 and Emi had just been born. My brother and his wife had Jairon who was 1-year old and had just found out they were pregnant with Ethan. It was a great time because we all knew that the wonderful family time that we'd been having for the last two years would soon end as many of us would be moving away from Portland. So it was me, my husband & Emi, my brother, his wife and Jairon, my sister and my youngest brother and my parents.
This year it will be a different story from the quiet Christmas of 2000. Now there are 10 grandchildren, my Natsuki being the latest. My sister has married and has two children, my brother and his wife now have four and we have four. I do feel bad for my youngest brother Joel because this Christmas is basically about the grandchildren and he hasn't made any yet. But he gets to be "Joel the Magnificent" and my kids think he's the coolest and they're looking forward to throwing snowballs at him!
My mom has planned a Fantasy Christmas complete with ice skating and Christmas dinner at a fancy hotel. Our whole family hasn't been together since my sister was married in June 2004 so we're planning a family picture which should be interesting. I have a hard time getting my four girls to face the same direction and smile for any picture-taking session so it'll be interesting to try to get 10 kids to do the same. But we're up for the challenge since we don't get many chances at a whole family picture.
I love my family and I can't wait to hug everyone.
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